Thursday, March 7, 2013

Part 2 - Or Why I Do What I Do.

I think I may have mentioned the wonderfulness of Grampians Texture before, but I only touched the surface.  It's hard to put into a few words and pictures.
 
 
A brief show-and-tell at the end of each of the 2-day and 4-day workshops is a visual summary of what took place, but the rewards run much deeper and richer than that.  When I look at these purses and bags, I see the people behind them, the challenges they faced, the stories they shared and the achievements that were made.
 
Below, I see a cluster of purses at the front, made by 3 lovely ladies who were 'knitters and embroiderers' and had no faith in their ability with a sewing machine. 

  
And I met so many wonderful people.... 

We laughed, we cried, we sewed.... we conquered fears.

We made bags.

Anne drove down from Sydney to come to my 4-day workshop, which made me feel very honoured.  I'm so glad that the adventure of designing, pattern-making and sewing up a bag was a part of the her journey.

Val thought that she'd never understand the pattern-making process.... but this (below) is the bag she designed and made (including the pattern) ... before whipping up a quick Fan Bag to finish the 4-day workshop.


Viki was afraid of zippers, but managed to do a stirling job of a feature zipper on the front of her bag, a zippered gusset in the top and an exposed zipper pocket on the lining.

I was thrilled to be able to teach seasoned dressmakers like Viv and Faye a few new tricks.

And when I took Viv slightly outside her (zipper) colour-matching comfort zone, it was a joy to see her triumph.
There was so, so much more to it...but in these deadline-heavy days, I haven't had the time to ponder the perfect blog post about it, nor even find the right few words.

I'm tired.  I'm busy.  I have another cold. I'm thinking about the book I have to finish writing.

But these photos speak volumes to me. 

12 comments:

Katja said...

They are all gorgeous but I especially love the golden zipper highlights on the final image. Just beautiful!

A Peppermint Penguin said...

gesundheit.

and I'm so jealous of those folks getting to spend 4 days with you!!

Love that corner zip.

ellie said...

I love them all, they all look fantastic - very talented people. I especially love the Japanese inspired one and the black and white with the orange zipper.

Annie said...

Wow wow and double wow...these bags and purses are amazing! I totally understand the thrill of completing one of your patterns and having such a professional looking product.

Katy Cameron said...

That looks like so much fun! Running stay over events like this are what I really want to do when I grow up...

Dot said...

Would just love to spend 4 days learning from you. But alas even
Oregon is over 3000 miles away.
In the meantime, I will follow your life adventures on Facebook, read your blogs and sew 7 days a week. You are an inspiration to me. Dot

Fer said...

Such a rewarding time, no wonder you're exhausted!

Handbags Online India said...

The online shopping for bags offers a massive selection in available to any price range without the hassle of online auctions.You can select among huge selections. Online Bag Shopping India

Kylie said...

Love all these bags but especially the one with the little corner zip, and the last one with the two golden coloured zippers...so clever!

Viki said...

thanks for a lovely few days Nikki. i had a wonderful time, learnt heaps and conquered my fear of zippers!!

Elizabeth said...

The photos do speak volumes. Thanks for taking the time to share. I wish that I could attend a workshop. Ala, I live in the middle of no where in the US. Far far away.

Anonymous said...

Hi Nikki, great to see the photo's! Yes it was wonderful to spend so much time with Nikki and learn so much. From a great name.